684
A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The Iranian regime began forcing women who defy hijab laws into psychiatric treatment. This follows the regime’s official reactivation of the “morality police.” Meanwhile, a female Kurdish activist sewed her lips shut to protest the fact she has been imprisoned since 2020. At the same time, Iranian authorities arrested several Kurdish activists, including Wali Museeni in Murimuri, five environmental activists in Marivan, Aso Abdullahi in Diwandara, Aram Rohi in Saqqez, Poria Ahmadi and the rest of his family in Senna, and 46 protestors in Agh Darreh, near Urmia. According to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Iranian authorities arrested at least 131 Kurdish citizens in July. Lastly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iranian border guards killed a Kurdish border porter (kolbar) and wounded eight more near Nowsud and Baneh.
- Wildfires engulfed several forests near Marivan. Local efforts to combat the fires, despite support from relief organizations and volunteers from other cities, have been hindered by a lack of assistance from the Iranian government. The fires began near Dereveran village on August 3, and official news reports have highlighted the absence of the Iranian government during the ongoing crisis. In fact, some local sources suggested IRGC-linked entities deliberately set one or more of the fires.
- The United States deployed the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group to the Middle East to counter Iran’s attempts to seize ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian regime responded by bolstering the IRGC Navy with ballistic missiles and drones. Tensions began rising in early July when Iranian forces tried to seize two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. These developments coincide with Washington and Tehran’s ongoing failure to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program despite reports of an informal “understanding” last month.
Iraq
- On August 6, Turkey conducted a drone strike in Duhok Governorate’s Amadiya District that killed a civilian named Alan Ismail and injured another. Additional strikes in the Amadiya District on August 6 and 7 caused significant damage to civilian property and agricultural lands. Turkish drones also killed one civilian and wounded another in Sulaymaniyah Governorate’s Chamchamal District.
- The United Kingdom marked the ninth anniversary of the ISIS (Da’esh) genocide against the Yazidis by officially recognizing the events in Sinjar as a genocide on August 1. Both the U.S. Department of State and British Consul in Erbil have called for the implementation of the 2020 Sinjar Agreement, which provides a framework for the reconstruction of Sinjar and relocation of Yazidi refugees. Former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani released a message emphasizing that official recognition of the Sinjar genocide is an important step towards implementing the 2020 agreement.
- The Iraqi government finally began sending the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) its share of the federal budget. The Iraqi government has now sent 598 billion of an expected 906 billion Iraqi dinars to the KRG so the latter can pay the salaries of government employees in Iraqi Kurdistan. KRG Spokesperson Peshawa Hawaramani said the KRG Ministry of Finance will distribute the salaries as soon as possible. However, on August 7, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court found elements of Iraq’s budget bill were unconstitutional and stated the wording of Articles 11 and 13 of the Iraqi Constitution gave final authority to the Iraqi government on several budget disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. Simultaneously, the Iraqi government rekindled efforts to pass a new oil and gas law, with the Council of Representatives’ Committee of Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources claiming it aims to approve the bill by the end of the year. Committee member Sahab Subhi alleged the draft legislation failed to take the KRG’s opinion into account, and such a law may have disastrous implications for the KRG’s autonomy.
Syria
- On August 3, a Turkish drone targeted a car on Ali Faro Road in Hasakah and severely wounded at least two civilians. Turkey and its proxies also disregarded civilian casualties and continued offensive operations in the rural areas surrounding Tal Tamer. Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed groups were killed during clashes. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) responded to Turkey’s ongoing aggression by issuing a statement claiming Turkey’s operations are forcing the SDF to divert personnel away from countering Da’esh and threatening the stability of West Kurdistan. Finally, a landmine killed four women and a child in a town north of Raqqa.
- On August 2, a Da’esh attack in Markada injured four members of the SDF. A second Da’esh attack on August 2 killed an SDF personnel in the al Saada area of Hasaka, and a third wounded five members of Hezbollah. On August 5, Da’esh killed three SDF personnel with an explosive device on the Raqqa-Khunta road. On August 6, a Da’esh cell posted leaflets in SDF-controlled al Tayana that threatened to execute women who failed to adhere to the “Sharia” dress code. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has recorded 103 Da’esh operations in northeastern Syria since January 1, 2023. That said, a joint SDF-U.S.-led Coalition raid captured a Da’esh cell leader in Deir Ez Zor Governorate’s Daman on August 5.
Turkey
- On the ninth anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and its offshoot the Green Left Party (YSP) introduced a bill recognizing Da’esh’s atrocities as a genocide. Separately, the YSP’s Youth Assembly launched an anti-war campaign targeting the Turkish government’s crackdown on the nation’s Kurdish population since 2015. The YSP accused the government of targeting the youth’s minds with “soft bombardment.” “False heroism, occupation, usurpation, plunder, and looting are being tried to be imposed on young people. Young minds are meant to be linked to false victories, power, nationalism, and racism,” read the YPS statement. Meanwhile, the Turkish government continued holding hearings for 108 Kurdish HDP politicians charged in the “Kobani case.” Further, the Prison Administrative Observatory Committees prevented the release of a recently acquitted female politician named Sebahat Tuncel. Concomitantly, the HDP announced its “Extraordinary Grand Congress” is set to be held on August 27.
- Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC issued forecasts predicting the lira would hit a new low versus the dollar amid Turkey’s ongoing economic woes. A Turkish journalist named Mustafa Balbay stated Turkish Minister of Finance Mehmet Şimşek has requested “real” inflation numbers from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Şimşek and Central Bank Governor Gaye Erkan previously met with foreign investors in an attempt to bring capital into the country.